TOURduPARK
We sat down at the Aylen River landing, wondering why anyone would take a canoe up or down here and eventually started back down the trail to McKaskill Lake. While crossing the hydro corridor, we kept a mindful eye out for bears – I’ve heard they love the hydro field, but mostly during berry season. While walking back to the boat, we noticed an unusual amount of birch bark on the ground. Huge sheets of it and plenty of falls birch trees. We each took huge handfuls for the cabin.
Exploring the lower end of McKaskill Lake & the surrounding area
McKaskill Lake looking west towards the 40m portage to Dove Lake
Hanging out at the Aylen River
Back at the boat and it’s about 3:30pm. Shane and I both tossed the birch bark into the bow of the canoe and started to gather more fire wood – there was a ton of readily-available firewood here so we spent about a half hour collecting and processing it to fit in the canoe. As we moved the canoe into the water, I noticed a huge, HUGE spider crawl out from the birch bark. ‘Yikes!! Which one of us was carrying that guy across the 1140m?’ It was disgusting. Just too big. We used a paddle to set him free into the forest then finished loading the boat and made our way back to the cabin.
He may not look big, but that paddle is about 4 inches wide at the resin tip. So uh.. yea. Not cool
Steak, fire-roasted potatoes, fresh red pepper, onion & zucchini for dinner
Comfy enough for a quick nap - and by the looks of it, something may have done just that
More pines growing out of the moss-covered forest floor
tr 77: McKaskill Lake cabin
Time for breakfast and today was a good one. Fresh eggs, fresh bacon and breakfast potatoes. Shane is a chef by profession so he had this awesome breakfast whipped up in mere minutes. He put a plate of food in front of me and I was really excited about this meal – it looked better than at home. The taste did not disappoint. As we sat at the table enjoying breakfast we eyed over the map to decide what we want to do today. One of our goals for this trip was to take a day and try to bushwhack our way to Prong Lake. We had an older map that showed a trail to Prong so we figured if we could find this trail we could get to the lake. However, we still felt a bit lazy after our long-ish day yesterday so we opted for a slightly easier day trip. I suggested we canoe over to the Aylen River portage and walk the trail to the river. A friend from an Algonquin-based forum had advised me of something very special at the other end of the trail. I had visited this area back in 2013 but due to high volumes of bugs I was unable to get good footage. This time around would be different – no bugs and all the time in the world. Before we went out in the canoe, we cleaned up the cabin area and ensured everything was away – just in case those mice decided to make an appearance.
It was close to 5pm and we were getting hungry. Dinner tonight will be steak, grilled onions, peppers & zucchini with fire-roasted jerk potatoes. Did I mention we were eating like kings on this trip? While Shane was inside doing the prep-work I went outside to get the fire going. You need a good bed of hot coals to properly fire-cook a steak. It didn’t take long and within the hour we were once again enjoying a fantastic Algonquin meal. Dishes cleaned up, logs added to the fire and booze added to our cups – we relaxed by the fire for the next several hours, once again recanting our different Algonquin trips over the last 8 years. Shortly before midnight we decided to call it a night and went to bed.
Once in the canoe we stopped by the campsite just east of the cabin to check it out, then continued on to the 1140m trail to the Aylen River. We parked and secured the canoe and made our way down the trail. It’s pretty flat and well-defined for a low maintenance portage. There were no blow-downs or obstacles so the crossing took about 15 minutes. Once at the other side, I pointed out the ‘oddity’ of the forest here and Shane agreed – an unusual site indeed. There are pines here, typical pines but where they grow is not so typical. These pines were growing in a forest of wetlands. Green grasses and moss covered the entire forest floor – which is very unusual for pines as its hard for them to thrive in such wet areas.
I approve of this breakfast (how could you not?)
Eggs over easy, strip bacon, breakfast potatoes & coffee.
A most unusual sight - pines thriving in very moist soil
Getting everything in order before headed out in the canoe
Day 2: Exploring McKaskill & the Aylen River portage
I woke up shortly after 7am and as I put my socks and shoes on I realized something – this was the first time in all my nights at various cabins, that I didn’t have to deal with any mice. I don’t know where they were, but they weren’t here. A pleasant surprise, especially when you’re expecting them. I went outside to snap a few photos and set up my stove for some coffee. I didn’t want to wake Shane so I put the stove outside (it’s kind of loud). With the coffee ready I grabbed my chair and enjoyed the view. A beautiful fall morning at McKaskill Lake. Not a soul in sight! When reaching for that 2nd cup of coffee I could hear footsteps in the cabin. Shane was up and decided to join me outside. It was cool out, but tolerable and no need for a fire. While Shane enjoyed the view, I tossed a few sticks and kindling into the woodstove to get it going. What’s the point of having a cabin with a woodstove if you’re not going to use it? Within 20 minutes or so the stove took the crispness out of the cabin air and the crackling of the wood pacified me. At that moment, I could’ve stayed there indefinitely.
Around noon we mixed up some drinks and went for a walk down the trail behind the cabin. It’s a wide trail and Park Wardens use it to access the cabin for maintenance. After a few hundred meters, it connects to the main logging road. We checked out the road area for a bit then headed back to the cabin. It’s nice to be able to relax and not worry about keeping to a schedule. Once back at the cabin we just lazed around for a bit longer and it wasn’t until about 2 in the afternoon that we took the canoe out.
Gorgeous morning on McKaskill Lake